


Shy Wolf

by Katlyn1948



Series: The Family Of Storm’s End [14]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Children, Difficult Pregnancy, F/M, Fluff, Happy, Original Character(s), Other, Winterfell, glimpse at the clan, needed to write this, the north - Freeform, this story almost made me cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 06:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20559419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katlyn1948/pseuds/Katlyn1948
Summary: Arya gives birth to her final child, little Rickard.





	Shy Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> I have added another part to the family of Storm’s End series. Yay!! This is about Arya and Gendry’s last child. I had the idea for this story lingering in the back of my head for the last couple of days and I needed to get it out there. I really do like this little story. Now all I have to do is low key introduce Lyanna somehow. Don’t know how I am going to do that! Anyway, hope you enjoy! Oh and if you need a refresher of who is who, look at the first or second story in this series; it explains their children a little more in-depth.

The Shy Wolf

He was the most difficult to bare. Her entire pregnancy with the shy little wolf had been challenging since the day she was carrying another babe. They had not planned to fall with child, for they thought that little Lyanna would be their last. Arya was sure to follow her moon tea regime and although she was thirty and one; still a perfect age to bare children, she truly did not want anymore stubborn bulls running around the castle.

It came as a complete shock to her when the maester had confirmed that she was indeed carrying another babe. She had not missed one drought of her tea. She was even taking an added mineral to help curb the effects of her husband’s seed, but like most things in the world, it was not completely fool proof. She had learned that the hard way.

Telling Gendry was with child once more turned out to be a feat all on it’s own.

He was rather busy with daily lord duties and Ser Davos had him in every which direction. Whenever Arya tried to find her dear husband he was either with the liege lords or off to mingle with the town folk. Even when they laid together in bed, she found it difficult to speak the truth. His days would exhaust him, making it near impossible for him to stay awake longer than a few minutes. Arya herself maintained a busy work schedule. She was busy training new guards or young women in the art of water dancing. In between her training, she was, undoubtedly, a full time mother and there were times where her children demanded her attention.

It took two moon turns for her to finally unleash the secret of their babe. Gendry was over the moon, as she thought he would be, but also concerned about how their precautions had failed. Arya tried to assure him that all was well, but she could not help but feel that unease of concern for the babe. The maester had done his best to reassure the lord and lady that accidents happen and despite the countermeasures, the babe should be perfectly healthy. However, that did not mean that it would be easy on Arya’s body.

She had carried five babes prior to this one, and not one of those gave her this much breach of peace. Nearly every morning since she told her husband of the babe, she would wake and empty her stomach of the vile contents from the night before. The annoyance of it all came from that fact that she could hardly keep any meal down for longer than a couple of hours. The maester had brewed many teas and herbals for her take to help calm the qualms of her stomach, but nothing seemed to ease her distress. It was becoming a hindrance to Arya’s day to day life. The lack of food or drink extinguished her energy, causing her to hole up in their bed chambers. She could not spar nor could she mingle with the castle folk; even her children had suffered from her lack of presence.

She became frail and weak, with nothing but skin on her bones. Gendry was worried. He feared the worst once the babe came and he was not sure how he would be able to handle a household all on his own. He did not want to think about the possibilities of loosing Arya, but she made him see reality. She told him that she very well not make it through the birth and tried to prepare him for the worst possible scenario.

When the time came for the babe to be birthed into the world, Arya was terrified. She had been scared before about her other children, but never once did she think she may perish while bringing her child into the world. With this babe, that was all she could think about. It started off much as the same as all her others had, but this time, Arya could feel that something was wrong. The babe was breached and had not turned the proper way for birthing. When the maester had confirmed this fact, the color from Arya’s face had drained. She was weak as it was and may not make herself, but the idea of her babe also perishing willed her to muster whatever strength she had left in her body to make it through this birth.

The pain was unbearable compared to all her others. She could feel the maester physically turn her babe in her womb and the sensation had garnered a visceral scream to escape her dry mouth. She had wondered if her other children could hear her screams from throughout the castle. She wondered if those screams would be the last thing her children heard from her or if the sight of her withering in pain, weak and vulnerable, would be the last thing that Gendry saw of her.

No. She would not let that happen.

With one finale push and twist of her womb from the maester, her last babe came into the world quite as mouse. There was no scream or cry that escaped his pink lips, just a soft whimper that indicated he wanted his mother’s breast.

Arya was amazed that she had survived. She managed to pull through and birth her child, albeit a painful process. Gendry was overjoyed and had whispered such sweet words of encouragement to his exhausted wife. Much like with her other babes, little Rickard was taken to be cleaned of his birth before being able to latch onto Arya. She herself needed to be cleaned before anyone other than her husband and chambermaids could see her.

There were quick shuffles around the room and as the chambermaids began to strip the linens of the bed, Arya could not help but notice the amount of blood that had escaped her body. She was convinced that she shroud have been dead. No one could survive with that much blood lost, but she had. She did not need any type of confirmation from the maester; little Rickard would be her last babe.

The moons following his birth had been strange, nonetheless.

Little Rickard was a quite babe; never one to cry for obsolete matters. It had surprised Arya and Gendry at how much sleep they could obtain with this babe. Bella and Shireen were normal with their cries, while the twins were an absolute nightmare. Their sweet girl Lyanna had been fussy, but nothing they could not handle, but with this babe, he was an complete gem. He would only whimperwhen hungry or when his cloths needed changing. It took a solid six moons for him to finally let out a cry so piercing that Arya was sure her ears were bleeding.

It shocked the whole castle, really for they had not heard such a cry come from such a small child. Of course, Arya and Gendry needed to know what could cause their sweet shy wolf such distress. Come to find out that it was little Lyanna who had made that horrid sound. She had not meant to do such thing; all she wanted was some time with the little wooden wolf that Davos had carved out for the young lad. She had a stag like all her other siblings before her, but she wanted a wolf and Rickard had one. She only meant to borrow it for a short time, but a Rickard would not allow it and he bit her right on the arm. He only had two tiny teeth, but it was enough to puncture the skin on Lyanna’s arm.

From that moment one, all of the other Baratheon children knew better than to bother little Rickard.

When his fourth nameday had approached, Arya thought it best that they take a family trip to the north to visit her sister. Sansa had yet to see the newest to the Baratheon clan and it would be a nice change to escape the stress of high Lord life. Gendry agreed and the following morning they were all packed and ready for their journey. As usual, the venture lasted nearly two moon turns, so when the sights of Winterfell castle were on the horizon, they could not be more relived.

What surprised Arya and Gendry the most was how well Rickard seemed to adapt to the north. It was almost as if he had been born there instead of in the hot Stormlands. He took a liking to the weather and even enjoyed the feeling of the snow beneath his feet. He had the chance to be wild and free and less reserved than what he normally was.

Sansa was quick to notice her young nephews demeanor. “He is pure wolf, that one.”

She was seated beside Arya, breaking their fast in the grand hall. It was the largest place that would allow them all to join together for meals considering the whole Baratheon troupe along with Sansa’s family had joined.

“I’ve noticed that too. He has the north in him. Looks more like a Stark than a Baratheon.” Arya confessed.

The corner of Sansa’s lips curved into a small smile, “How does your lord husband feel about that?”

“As long as they are happy, we are happy. He actually calls him Shy Wolf. He hardly talks to anyone when were are home, even to me, but here he cannot seem to shut up. He reminds me so much of Rickon at that age. I think he is Rickon’s age when I last saw him.” Arya had not meant to bring up their younger brother.

Sansa had been there when Ramsey Bolton shot an arrow into his chest, ceasing his life forever. It was not a fond memory of hers, but she hoped that the one of Rickard could help quench those nightmares.

“He does. Maybe it’s Rickon’s way of reminding us that he’s still here.” Sansa felt the tear slide down her cheek, and she swiftly wiped it away.

Arya could not help but smile at her little boy. He had given her so much trouble and fear before he had entered the world, now he gives her nothing but utter happiness. He was her shy little wolf and she would do anything to make sure he never knew evil.


End file.
